The present invention relates to an improved poster frame and display holder for various types of replaceable posters, pictures and similar advertising materials. The frame and holder can be used in many various areas, such as on buses, taxi cabs, and similar mobile installations, as well as on fixed mounts such as on building walls at service stations, on posts and the like. The poster display device is neat, trim and aesthetic and capable of being used either indoors or outdoors. The device secures a poster or other message sign within its borders and allows replacement thereof in a quick and easy manner.
The present invention is an improvement over the invention disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,828 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In that patent a display holder is set forth having a plurality of frame sections. Each of the sections are made essentially of two extruded portions which are pivoted together, the extruded portions being of any material which can be economically extruded, such as aluminum. The extruded frame sections are biased by means of an unbent metal leaf spring to coact and to releasably clamp posters or similar display items in the frame. The invention as disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,828 was itself an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,901 which employed cantilever action-type metal leaf springs with S-shaped hooks at one end to bias together the two parts of the frame.
The present invention provides a poster frame and display holder which is less expensive to manufacture and lighter in weight than the poster frames described in the above named patents. The poster display device of the present invention also is made from a plastic material, is essentially one-piece, and is capable of providing economical frames with relatively small widths (e.g. one-half inch or smaller). In the present device a plurality of frame sections forming a polygonal frame structure are extruded of a plastic material. In the preferred embodiment each frame section comprises a one piece extrusion having a front portion and a back portion of relatively rigid plastic material adapted to be hingedly connected to one another, and having an elongated biasing section of relatively resilient plastic material forming an integral part of the frame section. The front portion has an outwardly facing surface on which a decorative simulated metal or simulated wood laminate can be secured. The back portion is formed with an upstanding flange having a pivot pintle formation thereon. The front portion is formed with an inwardly directed flange at a first end thereof and with a second inwardly directed flange at a second end thereof which includes a cup shaped formation adapted to engage the pivot pintle on the back portion and form a hinge. The elongated biasing section is coupled between the downwardly directed front flange and the upstanding flange, and forms an integral part of the one piece extrusion. The length of the elongated biasing member is such that when the pivot pintle and cup shaped formation are joined to form a hinge, the biasing member is placed under compression causing it to bow towards the front portion. The biasing member thus provides clamping forces between the front and back portion. In one preferred embodiment the resilient biasing section includes living hinges disposed intermediately along the length thereof which facilitate changing or removing posters.
In another preferred embodiment the extruded member serves to clamp the display piece in place from the back side of the display piece against a separate frame member.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a unique and beneficial poster frame and display holder for use in various applications. It is another object to provide a highly durable, weather resistant poster frame and display holder which can be used indoors and outdoors and which will provide a reliable and pleasing appearance throughout its lifetime. Yet another object is to provide a display holder and poster frame which can be economically manufactured from relatively inexpensive materials.
Still another object is to provide a poster display framing device which retains the effective clamping action of the inventions of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,310,901 and 4,145,828, and yet which can be made more economically in smaller sizes.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention when viewed in accordance with the accompanying drawings.